Couple’s €44,000 mortgage exit fee upheld

A RULING that a financial institution was entitled to charge a €44,000 exit fee to a couple seeking to switch to a variable rate mortgage doesn’t bode well for householders considering a similar move.

Yesterday the financial ombudsman Joe Meade ruled the young couple with a five-year fixed rate mortgage on a €400,000 home had to pay the exit fee.

Mr Meade said having reviewed the documentation, he found the bank “had acted correctly” and that the fee was in line with terms and conditions of the loan.